PREACHED:
OL,5-23-04,AM
“TRUST
WHEN FAITH MAKES NO EARTHLY SENSE”
Faith
is a choice we make when we are called upon to trust in the promises of God.
A. Saving
faith involves stepping out beyond when we can see:
1. Heb.11:1.
B. It
is also acting on that trust in God’s word and His power to do what He says and
take care of the outcome -
1. Rom.
8:28
Heb 11:6.
C. Active
faith of Abraham -
1. Rom 4:18-22.
B. Though
a strong, immovable faith has a basis in historical record, it doesn’t always
make sense strictly from the standpoint of human wisdom and experience and the
five senses.
1. 1 Cor. 1:20, 21.
C. This
is most difficult for people in our
culture because we are conditioned to act on things which are empirically
verifiable!
1. And yet the Bible says, 2 Cor. 5:7.
2. Doubting
Thomas was unwilling to believe in Christ’s resurrection without seeing and
touching (John 20)!
a. When
he did see and touch is cried out, “My
Lord and my God!”
b. And
Jesus responded, “Have you believed
because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have
believed!”
(Vs 28, 29)
D. Human
reason and experience tends toward trusting in and relying on
ourselves—our strengths and
abilities—rather than in a God we cannot have not seen!
1. Psalm 118: 8, 9. “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. It is
better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.”
a. As
the old hymn declares, “The arm of flesh
will fail you; ye dare not trust your own…”
‚ We
must trust God even when the outcome may appear to be negative.
A. The
vision of the prophet Habakkuk and his
questions about the destruction of Judah by Babylon are at the core of
the prophecy. He couldn’t believe that God would destroy Judah by such a wicked
nation! But God reaffirmed he would, but he would also deal later with Babylon!
1. The
prophet’s reaction -
a. Habakkuk 3:16. “I hear, and my body trembles; my lips quiver at the sound; rottenness
enters into my bones; my legs tremble beneath me. Yet I will quietly wait for
the day of trouble to come upon people who invade us.”
3. The
prophet’s reliance -
a. 3:17-19.
“Though the fig tree should
not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the
fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd
in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my
salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he
makes me tread on
the high
places…”
a. Habakkuk
was called upon to trust in God despite hard times!
1) Shadrack,
Meshach, and Abednego:
a) Dan 3:15-18. “…you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And who
is the god who will deliver you out of my hands? Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego answer and said to the king, ‘O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to
answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to
deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it in known to you, O king,
that we will serve your gods or worship the golden image you have set up.”
c. The
Lord call upon TO TRUST IN SPIRITUAL FORCES BEYOND THE NATURAL REALM!
1) Elisha
at Dothan and the army of Syria:
a) II Kings 6:17. “Lord open his eyes that he may see. So the Lord opened the eyes of the
young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots
of fire all around Elijah.”
ƒ Jesus
came to Nazareth in Luke 4.
A. What
we see is an example of the conflict between faith and human reason:
1. Luke
4:14-19.
a. The
people could not step beyond their own limited experience and believe in
Him. All they could say was, “Isn’t this
Joseph’s son?”
b. Note their reaction:
1) Luke
4:22-30.
B. Matthew
made an interesting comment about Jesus trip to Nazareth:
1. Matt. 13:58.
„ Our
culture is more comfortable with “Joseph’s Son” than with a risen Lord?
A. A
movie came out several years back entitled, “Michael.”
1. It’s
about an angel that has all of the hedonistic vices of our secular culture:
drinking, smoking, gluttony, illicit sex, etc.
2. The
theme of the movie speaks volumes about our culture:
a. The
wicked world want angels that lower themselves to our standards of conduct and
a God who looks the other way at the worst in all of us!
b. Requires
no faith in faith, trust and submission to a rise Lord!
† But
unlike the faithless Jews in Nazareth, there was the Roman Centurion of Luke 7.
A. He
was much loved and respected by the Jews because he loved Israel.
1. His
valuable servant became desperately ill.
2. Ironically,
it was Jewish representatives came to Jesus on his behalf.
B.
Note the
faith of the Centurion:
1. Vs 6, 7. “When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him,
‘Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my
roof. Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed…”
C.
Jesus
commented about this man:
1. “I tell
you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.” (V 9
‡ Applications
for us:
A. When
we are about to give up on our marriage as hopeless...
1. Why
not trust in Jesus, commit yourself to completely to what He says is right and
let God help you put it back together again?
a. Matt
19:26
B. When
you are concerned about possibly offending a friend if you whom you would like
to share the gospel...
1. Why
not trust in God’s help and talk to your friend anyway?
C. When
you think your life is too messed up to ever get back on track...
1. Why not trust Jesus and try anyway?
a. No
one’s life could have been anymore messed up than the demon-possessed man of
Luke 8:
1) No
clothes, lived among tombs, completely controlled by evil, harmful to himself
and others, alienated from his family…
a) But
he wound up at the feet of Jesus, “clothed
and in his right mind,” (V 35)
D. When
you think a friend or loved one is terminally ill and question the power of
prayer...
1. Why
not pray anyway, trusting God, and leave the answers to Him?
E. When
there is a job that needs to be done in the church, and you have been called
upon to fill that void and you question your ability to do it...
1. Why
not launch out and take on the task, trusting
God to work with you and in the midst of your mistakes to bring glory to Him?
7} LET US PRAY:
A. Lord,
We believe, but help our unbelief. Help
us to trust in You completely, yielding ourselves to your will and help us to truly belief that what you have said you will do for us, you are completely capable of accomplishing…and to launch out by faith and whatever the outcome to trust implicitly in you!